Defining Love
by ilovetvalot
Summary: My first foray into the world of ROSSI/PRENTISS. After a hard case, a serious discussion ensues much to Emily's chagrin. Written in response to Kavi's TV Prompt challenge 10 - Happy Days: "Like Mother, Like Daughter". I don't own Criminal Minds. onesht


_Author's Note: Okay, first of all, my loyal readers, I haven't jumped ships. I just had to prove to myself that I could write Rossi with another character. And thanks to writer's like Smacky30 and Mingsmommy, this pairing is something I wanted to try. If you haven't read their stories, DO! They're awesome! Thanks again, to Kavi Leighanna and Siena27 for inviting other writers into their TV Prompt Challenge. And, like always, I have to thank a wonderful friend, Beta, and my all-around lifesaver, tonnie2001969. She kept this story flowing when I wanted to abandon it and hit Delete All. As always, I don't own Criminal Minds nor any of its characters._

**Defining Love**

**Prompt: Happy Days - "Like Mother, Like Daughter"**

Throwing her phone on Dave's nightstand, Emily Prentiss collapsed on his bed face first. Rubbing her cheek against the 1000 thread count down pillow, she thanked God, not for the first time, that David Rossi appreciated the finer things in life. Grabbing blindly for her wine glass of Merlot from the table beside her, she took a long sip. God, this had been the week that would not end. Their team had been faced with the grueling case of a sadistic rapist torturing his way from Tennessee to Georgia while escalating every step of the way. They'd caught him. Barely. And not before they'd had to use she and JJ as bait. She still wasn't quite sure if Dave or Will would ever recover. But it had worked and all's well that ended well, or something like that. Hearing Dave's footsteps on the stairs, she sighed. More than anything these past nights, she'd missed the feel of his solid body behind her in bed. Not enough to break her self-imposed rule of never mixing personal and professional in the field…but definitely enough to make her debate it in the dead of night as she'd laid alone in that generic hotel room.

Glancing at the bedroom door as it opened, Emily smiled as he walked in, cut glass of scotch in hand. "Took you long enough," Emily grinned. "Where's the food?" she asked fondly.

"In the oven. Good things come to those that wait," Dave chastised, casually unbuttoning his shirt.

Propping herself against the mahogany headboard, Emily shrugged her slim bare shoulders. "Hey, I told you, Rossi. Feed me or fuck me."

"The mouth on you, Agent Prentiss," Dave mocked, sliding the black button down shirt off.

"Well, if you'll hurry up and rid yourself of those pesky clothes, I'll show you what else I can do with this mouth of mine," Emily offered with a saucy smile.

Grinning at the woman in his bed, Dave tried not to let his breath catch at the sight of her dark hair draped over his pillows. You'd think after four months of doing whatever it was they were doing, he'd have grown accustomed to the sight. But no, at the oddest moments, her innate beauty caught him off guard, pulling at his heart and groin simultaneously. Shucking his pants and throwing them over the chair in the corner, Dave slipped into bed beside her, reaching for her immediately. "It feels good to be home," he murmured, settling her lithe body against him.

Nodding, Emily silently agreed, resting her head on his chest for a moment. Over the past few months, she grown accustomed to these comfortable silences between them. Neither she, nor Dave, felt the overwhelming desire to be particularly verbose after a hard case. It was one of the reasons that they worked so well together. Each understood the other's desire to simply decompress after the grueling images they faced on a daily basis. Other men….they'd always wanted her to share the burden, overwhelming her. Not Rossi. He knew the fine art of simply letting a person be. And she was astute enough to return the favor to him. Trailing light fingers through the wealth of hair on his chest, she kissed his chest gently, gratified to hear his satisfied grunt.

"So, what are you feeding me tonight?" Emily asked softly, sighing as she felt his warm hands begin to knead the tense knots in her neck.

"Lasagna, if that meets with the lady's approval," Dave grinned.

"I love your lasagna," Emily murmured, leaning more heavily against Rossi's strong body as his hands worked magic, loosening muscles she hadn't even realized were tight.

"Since you can eat your weight in it, I sorta figured," Dave laughed softly.

Tweaking his nipple, Emily mock frowned up at him. "Is that a crack about my weight?"

"Never," Dave chuckled, capturing her offending hand and rolling her to her back as he loomed over her. "You know damn well how perfect your body is," he said more quietly.

"Mmmm," Emily hummed, wrapping her arms around his neck as she stared up into passionate eyes. "You realize that I expect you to entertain me until you deem me worthy enough to provide sustenance."

"You know the rules, Cara," Dave whispered against her neck as his hands linked with hers over her head. "You have to work for your supper."

Lowering his lips to tease the sensitive skin below her ear, Emily felt her breath catch as his goatee scraped her neck's flesh. This never ceased to amaze her…how he could seek out the most vulnerable points on her body in seconds and exploit them. Moaning as his tongue trailed down her neck, she felt warm lips surrounded a dusky nipple. "God, Dave," she groaned. "Teasing me after a week alone is not a kind past time."

"Your choice. Not mine," he returned easily, sliding his tongue in lazy circles around her breast. "I'd have joined you any night you'd given the nod."

"You know the rules," she replied breathlessly, shifting underneath him as his hands tightened on hers and he shifted his attention to her other breast, puckering his lips and blowing lightly against its peak.

"I'm tired of the rules, Emmy," he murmured, using his pet name for her. Only he had ever called her that and each time it rumbled from his lips, her heart melted. "We're adults. I think our team can handle the knowledge that we're in a relationship."

Moaning again as his tongue darted out to rasp over her other nipple, Emily squirmed. "Why rock the boat?" she asked. "Things have been going okay, haven't they?" she asked uncertainly, gazing down to meet his dark eyes.

"Other than the fact that I missed you like hell this last week? That I now miss you like hell EVERY time we're not in bed together…" he said, his heartfelt words trailing off.

"You miss sex," Emily corrected, trying to lighten the moment.

"Don't do that! Don't avoid what I just said by trying to make it about sex," Dave growled, moving back up her body to stare down into her face. "It's NOT just about the sex. This case scared the shit out of me, Emmy! I could have lost you! This thing between us may have started by the two of us scratching a mutual itch, but I think we can both agree that now -" he said, his words drowned out by her ringing cell phone.

Grabbing for it automatically, she found her hand suddenly covered by his.

"Don't answer that," he ordered deeply.

"I have to…it could be JJ. We could have a case," Emily argued, willing to use any excuse to avoid this conversation. She didn't want to have it. Analyzing whatever this was between them…it would only lead to heart ache for her.

"Any excuse will do, right, Emily?" Dave asked bitterly, releasing her arm as she rolled to the side to grab the phone.

As fate would have it, the cell quit ringing as soon as the tips of her fingers touched it. Grimacing, Emily silently cursed as she turned back over to face the man on the bed.

"Dave -" Emily began quietly as the phone began ringing again.

"Jesus! Just answer it, Prentiss," Dave growled, crossing his arms as he flopped back against the bed frame.

Grabbing the offending object quickly, Emily answered without sparing a glance at the display and winced as soon as she heard the voice on the other end. Damn it! Her mother! And her bad day just got worse, she thought morosely.

"Mother," Emily said formally, her hand clenching around the phone as her spine unconsciously straightening. "What may I do for you?"

"Hello, Emily," Ambassador Prentiss replied. "I'm glad you asked. I need you to put in an appearance at the benefit conference the Washington Philharmonic is giving this weekend. Black Tie, dear. The proceeds go to the American Cancer Society. You know I'm on the national committee this year. I'll expect to see you by seven. No later than eight, Emily."

"Mother, I don't know if that will be possible. The team is just coming off a very trying case and-"

"Emily, it isn't negotiable. There are very few things I ask of you. This is one of them. Consider it a command performance, if you must, but I will expect to see you there. I must go, dear. Several more phone calls to make. Goodbye," Elizabeth Prentiss said tersely.

Staring at the phone she still held cradled in her hand like a repulsive roach, Emily shook her head. "She did it to me again," she muttered.

"What?" Dave asked softly.

"Command performance for the Prentiss ticket. Swear to God, that woman never hears a word I say…never listens to the words that are coming from my mouth. Sometimes I wonder if I've even spoken. It's all about keeping up those impeccable appearances with her…never mind how things really are…just so it looks perfect."

"Like mother, like daughter," Dave grumbled quietly.

"Excuse me?" Emily snapped, offended.

"It just seems to me that you come by a few things honestly, Cara," Dave said calmly.

"I don't know what the hell you mean by that, Rossi, but I'd think carefully about what you say from here. Or are you trying to deliberately sabotage a night of good food and better sex?" Emily said coolly.

"I'm not trying to sabotage anything, Emily. I'm drawing a conclusion based on the evidence in front of me. Your mother isn't the only one in your family that cares about her image," Dave growled. "You've insisted we hide what we are from the beginning!"

"That's because we don't fit any definition out there," Emily retaliated . "I'm sorry, I didn't feel it was necessary to announce to the team that I was your newest in a long line of fuck buddies four months ago! I didn't figure it was anybody's business as long as it didn't interfere with our work! And later…now…I don't know what the hell we are. Up until now, I though WHATEVER it was, was working. Suddenly, I find that I'm wrong," Emily shouted, her breast heaving.

"Then maybe it's time to define it, Prentiss. Because I'm too old to hide and I won't pretend that you don't mean anything more than any other colleague anymore! This week proved that to me! So, I suggest we start defining," Dave demanded forcefully.

"Why?" Emily all but screamed. "Why label it?"

"Because this is what grown ups do when they're in a relationship. They set limits. They agree on what to call themselves. Christ, Emmy, I'd like to introduce you as something other than my colleague and co-worker to people. Christ knows, you're a hell of a lot more than that to me!"

"And you want to induce me into defining whatever this is between us by bullying me? How well do you think you're honestly think you're gonna do with that, Dave?" Emily asked angrily.

"I don't want to bully you, Emily. But, I have to have some clarity here," Dave said gently but unapologetically.

Dropping her head into her hands, Emily conceded defeat. There was no way out of this conversation. David Rossi was nothing if not stubborn as a bull when he was decided on something. And there was no doubt, he'd decided they'd have this conversation. "Fine, Dave, you wanted this conversation," Emily began decisively, "You go first. What do you think we are?"

"I don't know, Emmy. What does it mean when I want you to be the last thing I touch at night and the first thing I see in the morning? What's it mean when another woman comes on to me and I want to be physically ill because she isn't YOU? What did it mean when I watched that unsub pawing at you in the bar two nights ago and I very nearly ripped Hotch's head off for putting you in that position? What does it mean that the thought of you in mortal danger unhinges me?"

"Dave -"

"Do you even realize that if you'd been hurt in Georgia that I'd have had no say at the hospital? If you were injured, it's that mother you loathe that would call the shots, Emily. Not me. I wouldn't have a goddamned thing to say in the matter! Do you not find that fucked up?"

"You're exaggerating, Dave," Emily said quietly, finding his hand with hers and gripping it in her hand. "We had a scare, but we came out of it fine!"

"There but by the grace of God!" Dave threw back. "It could have gone a hell of a lot differently!"

"But it didn't," Emily stressed.

"But it COULD have, Em," Dave said, surrounding her fingers with his. "It could have," he said softly, staring at the wall.

"Okay, Dave, I admit, it could have, BUT it didn't. I won't live a life based on what might be. That's no way to live for either of us."

"I get that, Emily," Dave nodded. "But you also have to recognize that in addition to having to see you in that danger, I had to act like I was fine with it. And, I WASN'T! I wasn't okay with any of it. I understand that you have the right to do your job…but to have to act like I WASN'T scared to death…let me ask you, if the situation had been reversed, could you have pulled it off? Put yourself in my position for a minute!"

Emily studied Dave's face as her mind replayed the events of the last few days. Could she have done what he did? Finally swallowing nervously, she shook her head and confessed, "No."

"Why?" he asked simply.

"Dave -"

"They're just words, Emmy," Dave said softly. "They can't hurt you."

"Yeah, they can. Because if we say them, it changes everything," Emily replied gravely.

"Not saying them doesn't mean that they aren't there between us," Dave countered.

Sighing deeply, Emily lifted her eyes to the ceiling, gathering herself. "Do you realize I've never said what you're asking for to another man. I've felt it before, but I've never said them. It always seemed to me if you said it, it cheapened the feeling. Diminished it, somehow."

"It doesn't, Emily," Dave said quietly. "And I need to know how you feel about us. Or we back away now. I've come to that point in my life where I'm tired of taking the easy way out. Been there, done that. I've got the scars to prove it."

"You're forcing my hand," Emily said angrily.

"I'm telling you the way it is," Dave said firmly, shaking his head. "What am I worth to you, Emmy?"

"Damn you!" Emily grumbled, wiping a tear angrily off her cheek.

"You think I like doing this to you?" Dave yelled. "I'm in love with you, goddamn it, Emily!" Pausing, Dave looked around the room. "See, the world didn't end because I said the words!"

Closing her eyes at the wave of emotion those words sent cascading over her, Emily bit her lip. "I -I…"

"You can do this, Emily," Dave whispered, holding onto her hand. "There's been nothing yet you couldn't do when you've put your mind to it. You've proven that again and again."

"I love you, too," Emily whispered, the words stilted as they rolled off her lips.

Sitting silently beside her, Dave waited a moment before he murmured, "I'm still here and the world didn't implode, Emmy."

"Yet," Emily grumbled, staring down at where she still clutched his hand like a lifeline.

Tugging her against his chest, Dave's voice rumbled against her temple as he said, "Ever, Emmy. I know you don't need me to keep you safe but that doesn't mean it's gonna stop me from trying."

"I swear to God, Rossi, you give me a reason to regret saying those words to you and I'll shoot you with your own gun," Emily growled.

"Don't intend to," Dave murmured, bending to claim her lips in a deep kiss. Tangling his tongue with hers, he sighed into her mouth as she responded in kind, the tension beginning to ease from her body. Shifting to lie above her, he grinned against her lips as she pushed his boxers down his legs.

"No more talking," she ordered against his lips. "You got what you want, now I want what I came for," she said tersely.

"Isn't that my line," Dave chuckled, his hands traveling down her body, caressing her skin as he went.

"Evidently, I'm going to be the guy in this relationship," Emily replied, her hand finding him beneath the covers.

"I can live with that, Emmy," Dave grinned, finally losing himself completely in the soft touch of her hands on his skin.

*******

Hours later, as they lay tangled in the sheets and each other, Emily grinned mischievously up into Dave's dark face as she told him, "Well, Agent Rossi, you've got yourself a relationship. Now, you get the mother that comes with it. You'll, of course, be my escort for this event this weekend."

"Shit," Dave moaned.

Kissing his chest, Emily's laughter washed over him as she murmured, "Welcome to couplehood."

**~FIN~**


End file.
